Clutch and brake mechanism



Feb. 22, 1949. J. w. McNAlRY 2,462,657

CLUTCH AND BRAKE MECHANISM Filed Dec. 8, 1945 M) YA.

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, 2' 2/ 2 20 I4 5/ 2a l7 1 37 Inventor": Jacob W. Mc NaiPyL 26 34 50 4/ as a 40 3a 94 84 )0 W 47 49 y His Attorney.

iatented Feb. 22, 1949 CLUTCH AND BRAKE MECHANISM Jacob W. McNairy, Bridgeport, Conn, assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application December 8, 1945, Serial No. 633,632

2 Claims.

The present invention relates to clothes washing machines of the type comprising a tub, a spin basket in the tub, and a washing mechanism in the spin basket, the spin basket being disconnected from the driving motor and held stationary while the washing mechanism is operated to perform the washing operation and being then connected to the driving motor and rotated at relatively high speed to extract water from the clothes. It relates particularly to such machines wherein the electric motor for the machine is connected to the spin basket by a fluid actuated clutch. Such a machine is shown in my application, Serial No. 551,105, filed August 25, 1944; also in the application of Thomas T. Woodson, Serial No. 551,096, filed August 25, 1944, both assigned to the same assignee as my present invention.

The object of my invention is to provide certain improvements hereinafter described in a washing machine of the above referred to type, and for a consideration of what I believe to be novel, and my invention, attention is directed to the following specification and to the claims appended thereto.

In the drawing, Fig. 1 is a sectional view, partly broken away, of a washing machine mechanism embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional View taken on line 22 of Fig. l; and Fig. 3 is a detail View of a modification.

Referring to the drawing, l and 2 indicate inner and outer shafts respectively, shaft I being the shaft which drives the washing mechanism, an oscillating agitator in the present instance, and shaft 2 being the shaft which drives the spin basket. Shaft l is journaled in suitable bearings in shaft 2, two of which are shown at 3 and 4. At its upper end, it is suitably connected to the washing machine agitator (not shown). At its lower end, it is fixed to a crank arm 6 by a pin 1. The free end of crank arm 6 is connected by a pin 8 to the free end of a second crank arm 9 journaled' on a crank pin it. Crank pin 90 has stub shafts El and i2 journaled in the upper and lower walls It and it of a gear housing or frame l5. On crank pin H3 is a gear wheel it which meshes with gear teeth ll formed on the upper end of a shaft 43. Upper wall i3 is an integral part of the frame l and is provided with an upwardly projecting neck 19. Lower wall It is attached to the frame by a ring of bolts 26 and is provided With a downwardly extending neck 2| in which the upper end of shaft is is journaled. The lower end of shaft 18 projects into and is journaled in a tubular shaft 22 which is the shaft of the electric motor for the washing machine. Carried by shaftZZ is the motor armature 23. The stator of the motor 2 is indicated at 24. The stator comprises a frame 25'having a lower head it fixed in place by suitable rods 2?.

Formed. integral with the upper end of stator frame is a wall 28 provided at its central portion with a bearing sleeve 29 in which the lower end of neck 21 is journaled; At 36 and 3| are up. lower thrust collars which engage. the er and lower surfaces of bearing sleeve 29;

thl..st of neck 2% and the parts carried thereby;

thrust.

in which the lower endof shaft 221s journaled and below bearing 32. are walls which define a cavity 32* into which projects the lower' end 33 of'motor shaft 22. In the present instance, a pump of the positive. displacement, eccentric type, is illustrated, the pump housing being eccentric to shaft end 33 andthe shaftlend being provided with suitable pump blades 34 which are movable radially and which sweep along the inner surface of the eccentric pump housing. The inlet conduit for the pumpisindicated at 3521\nd the discharge conduit is indicated at 36. This is a known type of pump the operation of which is: well understood. The lower side of the pumphousing is closed-by cover plate 31 fastened in position by screws 38 which serve also to fasten in place a dished plate. 39 which defines beneath cover plate 2? a chamber 40. which is connected: to the discharge side of the. pump by a passage Chamber 40 is connected by a vertical passage 52 formed in head 33' and All in cover plate 31-.

the lower end of shaft. l8.to the underside: of a clutch disk :23 connected to the shaft ['8 by a pin Clutch disk has on its tapered edge a clutch facing adapted. to engage a clutch: face on- 33 is a yoke i't'which servesto hold inlplace an electrcmagnet 4'8 provided with a plunger 49 which serves as a valve adapted to close open-- When'piunger 4:9 is in the:

ing Sit in 39. position shown in the drawing, fluid pressure which enters chamber as from the dischargesi'de of the through passage4 l flows out through opening. 50"so. that pressure is not'buil-t upin chamb er' i l When the-electromagnet v 48: is energized, plunger i9 sea'ts' against opening 50.; closing the same and permitting the building up of presust collar 3!} serves to take the downward.

fnrust ring 31 serves to take upward" vertical 3 sure in chamber A!!! to effect flow of fluid under pressure through the passage 32 to the space beneath clutch disk 43.

Motor frame 25 is attached to the upper portion of a housing which encloses the operating parts of the mechanism by a ring of screws 52 which attach a flange 53 on the motor frame to housing portion 5!. Attached to housing portion 5! by a ring of screws 54 is a lower housing portion 55 which encloses the lower portion of the mechanism. In the bottom of housing portion '55 is a suitable supply of fluid, such as oil, the level of which is indicated at 55. The admission conduit 35 for the eccentric type pump projects down beneath the level of the oil in the bottom of housing portion 55.

Tubular shaft 2 is fixed in neck !9 on wall 3 by a set screw 5! so that it is rigidly attached to the gear housing or frame !5. It is journaled in a neck 58 which forms a part of upper casing portion 5!, a bearing lining for the tubular shaft being indicated at 55. At its upper end, tubular shaft 2 is suitably connected to the spin basket (not shown).

Gear housing or frame I5 is normally held stationary by a brake structure comprising a stationary brake ring 6!) formed integral with the motor frame with which engages a brake lining carried by a movable brake and clutch member 6! which is in the form of a dished plate having a side wall 62 :and a bottom wall 63. Brakeand clutch member 5! is connected to the lower end of neck 25 by a plurality of radially extending, axially yieldable, spring driving arms 54 formed integral with a central ring 65 attached to neck 2! by a ring of screws 56. Screws 66 serve to hold in place also :a disk 87 having a plurality of spaced radial arms 58 located between arms 6 Three arm 65 and three arms 68 are indicated in the drawing and form a' satisfactory number. Arranged between arms 68 and the inner surface of Wall 63 are springs 65 which serve to bias brake and clutch member 6! downward into engagement with brake ring 55. Screws 65 serve to hold in place also a cup 10 which is riveted to ring 65 and disk 51 as is indicated at 1!. Cap extends through an opening in wall 63 and is provided with a flange 12 which is positioned beneath the wall. Cup 10 is utilized in assembling the mechanism. forms no function after the mechanism has been assembled. In manufacture, brake and clutch member 5!, ring 55, disk 5?, springs 59 :and cup 10 are assembled and connected'together by rivets 1!,,thus providing a unitary structure for connection to neck 2!. Springs 69 are placed under initial tension during the assembling of these parts and the flange 72 on cup 1!} serves to hold the assembly together until it 'is positioned in the mechanism.

Slidably mounted on drive shaft [8 is a clutch disk 73, it having an integral collar M adapted to slide on shaft I8 and a clutch lining 75 adapted to engage brake and clutch member 5!. It is fixed to and carried by the upper movable end of a corrugated bellows 76, the lower end of which 7 is fixed to clutch ring 45, i. e., the motor rotor. by a ring of screws 71. It encloses clutch disk 43 as is shown clearly in the drawing. When bellows 16 is expanded by fluid pressure admitted to its interior, clutch member '53 is moved vertically to bring the friction clutch lining 15 into engagement with brake and clutch member 5! to connect the motor armature through the corrugated bellows 16, clutch member 13, brake and It perclutch member 6! and flexible arms 64 to frame !5 which in turn is connected to spin basket shaft 2. At the same time, the vertical movement of clutch member 13 serves to lift brake and clutch member 6! from engagement with brake ring 68. Clutch member 13 is biased to a position out of engagement with brake and clutch member 6! by a suitable number of compression springs 18 arranged between the heads of depending bolts fixed to clutch member 13 and inturned flanges at the upper ends of brackets fixed to the motor rotor. On the lower end of clutch collar 14 is an extension 8! which engages a snap ring 82 which is fixed to and forms an abutment on shaft !8 and which serves to force clutch disk 53 into positive engagement with its seat on clutch ring 45 and to limit collapsing movement of the bellows. Thus springs 18 serve both to move clutch member '13 from engagement with clutch member 6! and to seat clutch disk 43.

The eccentric oil pump is used also for supplying lubricant to the several bearings and to this end discharge conduit 36 is connected with a passage 84 which by a vertical pipe 85 is connected to passages 86 leading tothe several bearings. Oil is also sprayed from a head 87 against the interior of casing portion 5! to effect cooling of the oil. 7

Normally, when the motor is not running, the parts stand in the positions shown in the drawing, clutch disk 83 being in engagement with clutch ring 45, clutch member 13 being out of engagement with brake and clutch member 6!, and clutch and brake member 6! being in engagement with the brake ring 5!]. The engagement of brake and clutch member 6! with brake ring 60 serves to hold stationary the frame I5. Electromagnet 48 is deenergized so that plunger 4!) stands in a position in which passage 50 is uncovered. If now the circuit on the motor is closed, the motor rotates and through clutch disk 43 rotates the shaft !8 which in turn through gear wheel I5 and crank arms 9 and 6 oscillates shaft to eifect the washing operation. At this time, the eccentric pump operates to supply oil under pressure through passage 84, pipe 85 and passages 86 to the several bearings which require lubrication.

When the washing operation is completed, an electric circuit is closed on electromagnet 48 energizing it to eiTect movement of plunger 49 to close passage 50, thus shutting off the by-pass from chamber 45. Pressure now builds up in chamber 50 effecting flow of oil under pressure through passage 42 to the underside of clutch disk 43. The pressure effects vertical movement of clutch disk 43 thus moving shaft !8 axially to disconnect clutch disk 43 from clutch ring 45 to disconnect the motor armature from the agitator shaft Axial movement of shaft !8 is lim. ited by the upper end of the shaft engaging the lower end of shaft Oil now flows around the periphery of clutch disk 45 to the interior of bellows 76, tending to effect expansion of the bellows to lift clutch member 13 into engagement with brake and clutch member 6!, thus connecting the motor armature to shaft 2 through bellows 75, clutch member 13, brake and clutch member 6!, spring arms 64 and frame I5. At the same time, expansion of the bellows lifts brake and clutch member 6! from engagement with brake ring 66. By friction between members 15 and 6! the motor now rotates the mechanism as extract the water from the clothes.

My invention has to do particularly with a mechanism which prevents the building up of fluid pressure in the bellows to effect expansion of the bellows until the motor has reached a pre determined high speed, for example, full speed, and which thereafter functions to regulate the pressure in the bellows to prevent overloading of the motor both while the load (i.e. the spin basket) is being brought up to speed and also thereafter. To this end, I provide in clutch member 13 a passage 88 which communicates with the interior of bellows i6 and is normally open for escape of fluid pressure from bellows l6 and which is automaticall closed after the motor has reached a predetermined high speed, for example, full speed, to effect quickly the building up of pressure in the bellows; and which is thereafter opened and closed or adjusted and positioned by variations in motor speed to prevent overloading of the motor.

The means for closing opening 83 may be in the form of a centrifugally operated valve which is biased to open position and is closed when the speed of the motor reaches a predetermined high value. In the present instance, the centrifugally operated valve comprises a valve member 89 car ried by an arm 98 pivoted on clutch member l3 as is indicated at 9 I. The valve is biased to open position by a weight 92. When the speed reaches a predetermined high value, weight 92 is thrown out by centrifugal force to bring valve member 89 into position to close the opening 83 and effect quickly the building up of pressure inside the bellows 76. The initial movement of bellows l5 lifts clutch member 13 into engagement with brake and clutch member 6! and lifts the brake and clutch member from engagement with brake ring as. The pressure between clutch member '53 and brake and clutch member 6! is now controlled by the pressure in bellows l6 acting against springs 69 and this pressure in turn is controlled by valve member 89. The load to be rotated, i.e., the basket of clothes and water, must be started into rotation and gradually accelerated until full speed is reached. During acceleration of the load, clutch slippage is depended upon to prevent overloading of the motor. When the motor load exceeds a predetermined high value, the motor speed decreases and valve member 89 opens somewhat to permit escape of fluid pressure from bellows F5. This serves to decrease the pressure between the clutch members and permit increased slippage, thus decreasing the load on the motor. By this arrangement, variations in the speed of the motor are utilized to regulate the pressure in the bellows and through such pressure regulation, the load on the motor. The maximum pressure built up within the bellows may be limited by a suitable pressure relief valve 94 connected with the discharge side of the pump.

In Fig. 3 I have shown a modification of the centrifugally operated valve. In this modification, the valve member 95, corresponding to valve member 89 of Fig. 1, is cone-shaped and is biased to open position by a spring Q8, the valve member 95 being closed against the action of the spring by weight 91.

After the extraction operation is completed, the circuits on the motor and on electromagnet 48 are opened. Opening the circuit on electromagnet 48 permits plunger 49 to move away from passage 50 permitting oil pressure to escape quickly from bellows l6. Springs 69 and 18 then operate to bring brake and clutch member 6| into engagement with the brake ring 60, separate clutch mem- 6 ber 13 from br-ake and-clutch member BI, and seat clutch disk 43 against clutch ring 45. The function of the opening 46 in clutch disk 43 is to insure complete seating of the clutch disk, it serving to permit oil to escape from beneath the clutch disk at the instant the clutch disk makes contact with its seat, thus preventing an trapping of oilwhich would prevent proper seating from taking place.. The opening 46 is small enough'that'escape of oil through it will not prevent building up of pressure beneath clutch disk 43 when the clutch is to be released.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, I have described the principle of operation of my invention, together with the apparatus which I now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof, but I desire tohave it understood that the apparatus shown is only illustrative and that the invention may be carried out by other means.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a washing machine or the like, the combination of a driven shaft, a driven brake and clutch member, axially yieldable arms connecting the driven brake and clutch member to the driven shaft, a brake ring, spring means opposing axial movement of said driven brake and clutch member which holds it in engagement with the brake ring, a driving shaft, a second clutch member, an axially expansible corrugated bellows connected at one end to said second clutch member and at the other end to said driving shaft, a fluid pump driven by the driving shaft for supplying fluid pressure to said bellows to effect expansion of the bellows to bring said second clutch member into engagement with said brake and clutch member to close the clutch and move the brake and clutch member axially from engagement with the brake ring, a discharge port for the bellows, a centrifugally operated valve for closing said port when the driving shaft speed reaches a predetermined high value, and means controlling the flow of fluid from the discharge side of the pump to the bellows.

2. In a washing machine or the like, the combination of a driven shaft, a driven brake and clutch member, axially yieldable arms connecting the driven brake and clutch member to the driven shaft, a brake ring, spring means opposing axial movement of said driven brake and clutch member, which holds it in engagement with the brake ring, a driving shaft, 2. second clutch member, an axially expansible corrugated bellows connected at one end to said second clutch member and at the other end to said driving shaft, a fluid pump driven by the driving shaft for supplying fluid pressure to said bellows to effect expansion of the bellows to bring said second clutch member into engagement with said brake and clutch member to close the clutch and move the brake and clutch member axially from engagement with the brake ring, means controlling the flow of fluid from the pump to the bellows, a motor for driving the driving shaft, walls defining a passage for flow of fluid from the bellows, a valve for closing said passage, and a speed responsive member connected to the valve which is biased to hold the valve normally in open position and effects closing of the valve when the speed of the driving shaft reaches a predetermined high value to regulate flow of fluid pressure from within the bellows.

JACOB W. McNAIRY.

(References on following page) 7 REFERENCES CITED Number The fo1l 0wing references are of record in the file of thls patent: 2:325:81!

UNITED STATES PATENTS 23 2:2224 Allefi f f M34 3 1915 32 3 5 2,095,044 Glasner Oct. 5, 1937 3 V Name Uafie' Hazard Nov. 8, 1938 Martin Jan. 23, 1940 Tyler Aug. 3, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Germany June 21, 1933 Certificate of Correction Patent N 0. 2,462,657. February 22, 1949.

JACOB W. MoNAIRY It is hereby certified that errors appear in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows:

Column 2, line 33, for the numeral 27 read 37; column 6, line 52, claim 2, after the syllable ber strike out the comma;

and that the said Letters Patent should be read With these corrections therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Oflice.

Signed and sealed this 23rd day of August, A. D. 1949.

THOMAS F. MURPHY,

Assistant Uomz'ssz'oner of Patents. 

